Bathtime
by lilliewildelangtry
Summary: Some much needed mummy and baby bonding time, with an unexpected twist. Post-series.


_**Hello, Hello everyone! I'm aware its been forever and a day since I updated/posted anything new, but now that I have successfully graduated college, I can dedicate some more time to writing for this awesome fandom! Yay!**_

_**I dedicate this one shot to my mom. I literally wouldn't be here without you**__**! Happy Belated Mother's Day and Happy Early Birthday Mom!**_

_**Many thanks to RainbowPockets for looking over/reviewing this piece!**_

* * *

Candles surrounding the bathtub glowed within the darkness, as C.C. sunk deeper into her now lukewarm bath. Suds surrounded her body like a bubbly fortress, hiding her face from the sight below on the marble floor. There atop a stack of plush towels laid her sleeping infant daughter, heated by the floor and the towels' retained heat. She also had some soothing music going, which she was hoping would be more beneficial for her, which happened to be an excellent way of keeping little Sara quiet.

C.C. moved some of the bubbles away from her face and looked down at the sleeping lump. She had to admit, Sara was certainly not the quietest baby in the world (Niles made sure of that) but she was certainly no terror. Not yet at least. She was, in fact rather a decent baby; leaning more towards the quiet side, much to her relief. Perhaps this was just Sara's own way of lulling her into a false sense of security. She was constantly around her father, after all.

After staring at her for a few seconds, she resumed her position leaning against the back of the tub with the back of her head resting comfortably on some folded towels. She let out a comfortable sigh as she felt the aches and pains from her body melt from her body. These kinds of breaks always seemed to hit the spot for her, with the added advantage of soothing the soothing the baby, C.C. realized she had to get Niles out of the house more often.

Then C.C. heard a small coo. Little Sara's eyes began to open, as her little body stirred. As they locked eyes on each other, C.C. swore she was looking at Niles, as Sara seemed to acquire her daddy's bright baby blues. Niles constantly swore she looked more like her mother, but C.C. was sure Sara would acquire daddy's traits soon enough.

"Hello..." She whispered as the little one gave a yawn, rubbing her eyes before sleepily turning her head to her mummy. Looking at Sara's exposed skin, C.C. suspected she might be getting a little cold, and thought about bringing her into the tub with her. Niles was always more conscious of these things from the start, giving her relatively colder baths to ensure that the baby would not be burned. But with the advent of her first birthday, C.C. was sure the little Babcock could handle it. This overly protective daddy thing was cute most of the time, but sometimes it was just downright annoying and just plain... well, babyish.

With the water sitting for at least a half an hour, she decided it was cool enough for Sara to enjoy, too. She stood out of the tub and carefully bent down to take the babe in her arms. "I think you'll like this a little bit more than daddy's baths." She told her as she slowly sank herself down into the water and held Sara against her bosom. Trying to hold the little one against her, C.C. sat upright, against the back of the tub.

Sara turned her head around, surprised, as if she had never seen water before. Her little toes hung over either side of mummy's torso as she straddled her, touching the warm water. It was a new sensation. C.C. could tell by the look of her daughter's face. Sara turned to look at the water that surrounded her and held out her arm to touch it. C.C. slid Sara down to her hips so she could touch the water for the first time. Sara splashed her hand into the water a few times, managing to wet her mummy's previously bone-dry hair.

"Alright, alright." She withdrew Sara's hand from the and held it closed. She then took some water and poured it over Sara's back, making the little one's head turn confusingly up to her mummy.

"Do you like it?" C.C. asked in a high pitched voice, "Do you like the water?"

Sara turned away from her mummy as she reached down to touch the water again. She looked back up to C.C., cooing. Was that her answer? C.C. gave off a small, stifled chuckle as as she sunk deeper into the tub, with the baby's rear submerged underwater, and her upper half resting comfortably on mummy's stomach. The bubbles surrounded them in their own little world as CC began to splash some water on Sara's back, neck and head, causing the baby's smile to grow, which made her mummy's smile grow in unison. She didn't know why, but there was something about this baby that made her usual snarl turn into smile, even when she was doing something wrong. Was she getting soft already?

A little hand begun to reach up and touch mummy's face, while the other tugged on mummy's hair, but C.C. quickly put a stop to that one. "Ah Ah! That is one thing you need to learn _not _to touch."

Sara looked up at her with wide eyes, mouth dumbly open. With a neatly manicured fingernail, she closed the little one's mouth shut, but it did no good as she began to laugh again, flailing her arms into the water as she giggled, her mummy giving off a soft sultry chuckle to match her daughter's high pitched one. She poured some more water over her head; further drenching what little hair she had. She wiggled her manicured finger before her and watched Sara take it in her little hands, C.C. giving it a shake. She was still in awe of this little creature before her. The tiniest fingers, hands, feet and toes all of which felt like the softest baby powder she ever felt. It was unbelievable that she carried this little thing for several months. That she could make something this... what was the word... precious? Fragile? Innocent? All of them seemed fitting.

After a few minutes, Sara's eyes began to droop and her body began to sway in a way that made C.C. know she was getting sleepy again. She really couldn't pinpoint how she knew this, she just did. She carefully placed her hand on her daughter's head and pressed it onto her chest, watching her eyes blink slowly and her tiny hands resting on mummy's broader shoulders.

* * *

"_'Breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time to bond. The skin-to-skin contact can boost the mother's oxytocin levels, a hormone that helps milk flow and can calm the mother."' _

_C.C. read from the article on the screen, rubbing at her large belly and cocking an eyebrow, "Who the hell actually says that? Sandy didn't breast feed."_

_Niles placed her cup of tea on the __coaster,__ "__Sara__ was taking medications. Perhaps if you paid attention once in awhile, you'd know."_

"_At least I gave them privacy. The only time you didn't know about something is when you were actually doing work." She took a sip of her tea. Balanced just right of course, with just the right amount of sugar. "Ugh, who do these scientists think they are anyway, claiming that mothers get 'calmed' by breast feeding. Let me tell you something..."_

"_Remember, you only have a month to get your point across."_

_C.C. let him have his bit of fun before continuing, "These scientists don't know what the hell they're talking about. Having a kid sucking from your tit is not something you look forward to coming home and doing. And what is this about 'skin-to-skin contact', I mean..." She shook her head and pointed to the screen, "What a load of crap, huh?"_

"_I don't know. I got a lot out of 'skin-to-skin contact'." He cocked an eyebrow._

_She rolled her eyes, giving __him no contact__. "Well, I'm sorry Niles." She carefully stood up from the computer and proceeded to move away from the desk, "All of that just sounds like a bunch of psychobabble crap written by some crazed "mommy nut" or some male scientists that enjoy watching us use our 'primary features'"._

_Niles followed her right into the living room, "Alright, you can make those claims, even though I doubt it's completely true, but there are more benefits to it than that I assure you..."_

_C.C. rubbed her belly and listened to Niles speak behind her, "Listening..."_

"_You have forgotten about the budget benefits, even though we do not necessarily need them. Her food bill won't cost a thing... and mother's formula is much better for them. Need I remind you of little Jonah's allergic reaction to the baby formula Mrs. Sheffield bought...?"_

_C.C. closed her eyes. No, she did not._

"_And besides...you could use all of the tranquilizers you can get." He said in her ear, wrapping his arms around her and patting her stomach._

"_Oh Ho Ho! Look who's assuming the role of the lion tamer!"_

"_Roar, baby." she gave him a firm smack on his arm._

"_All I'm saying is... at least try it." Niles said, "If you don't decide to go on with it, you don't have to. No questions asked."_

"_Well, thank you for your permission."_

* * *

C.C. couldn't really say that having little Sara close to her had some kind of 'calming powers', but she knew that it did make some kind of difference. Was it the additional gentle body heat? The feeling of someone, specifically a baby, holding onto you intimately? The feeling of being needed and, possibly, even wanted after always being pushed away for so long? She was not entirely sure. She could say all of these things were what she felt while holding her baby, her bundle of joy, but there was something there that she just couldn't put into words. It was something, she supposed, in a very cliché way that only a mother could understand.

She lowered her eyes down at her daughter's sleeping form, her breathing regular and steady, slumped against her mother's bosom, before realizing that most of the surrounding candles had snuffed out and the water was nearly frigid. C.C. carefully stood up and moved out of the tub, while holding Sara, and went over to the small changing station in the corner of the room. She quickly put her robe on, before grabbing a candle and lighting it. She saw those little light blue orbs again. They were smiling up at her.

"Don't laugh at mummy just yet, I haven't done anything."

As she opened up the wipes, she noticed Niles' posted instructions on how to change the baby, in case a certain "mother hen" had become flustered with her "baby chick". At this point, she was somewhat familiar with getting a diaper on the little one, but still used his instruction as a way to keep track of her progress. Before she knew it, Sara was adorning her diaper. "See, I told you. Nothing gets in the way of C.C. Babcock. Not even you." She used the towel beneath her to wrap her up in her arms and take her into the adjoining master bedroom.

C.C. moved to the bed, sliding under the blanket and keeping Sara close, as she watched her sleepy baby try to keep her eyes open. She reached an arm up to her and held up her stubby fingers to her mummy, C.C. took them with a single digit and gave it a playful shake. The little one beamed, chewing on the corner end of the towel. C.C. moved the corner away, "Why did you have to further complicate things?" She questioned gently before giving her tiny hand a kiss, an act she usually reserved for home base.

"Moo…" Sara cooed, sliding her hand from C.C.'s finger and pointing up. "Moum…."

C.C. became confused and looked down at the child, "You know that was rhetorical question right?"

"Moum…Moum…" The baby kept pointing up. "Moum."

"I'm sorry, but as you probably already know, I am not the one that speaks baby."

Sara's tiny finger pointed up to C.C., "Moum… Mum… Mum-my."

C.C. was in complete shock. Her eyes nearly came out of her head as she looked down at the infant, actually understanding what this child was saying. It made her wonder if Sara actually understood her the whole time she had been talking to her.

C.C. took the little one's hand in acknowledgment, "Yes… Yes, that's right! Mummy. I'm mummy."

Sara's arm slackened as began she to grow sleepy again, her eyelids drooping over her eyes until they were finally closed. It was like witnessing something no one would believe. For nearly a year she had to hear constant googoos and gagas that nearly convinced her that she would never her daughter speak. The predicament worsened when Niles kept encouraging her baby talk by repeating it back. She had to have someone on her side of the argument, after all, as Niles was becoming more of a handful than she could handle.

With Sara asleep, she carefully placed her on the mattress, and went over to her purse, whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number. It rang a few times before she heard a familiar British voice fill her ear, "You better get your sorry ass home, Hazel." She turned to look at Sara's sleeping form on the bed, "Why? Because I'm getting my suspicions about you... and your daughter is starting to talk!"

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! **_

_**My lovely friend, RainbowPockets suggested that I further expand into the story, but have been indecisive if I should or not. Tell me what you think, and as always, comments are always appreciated as well! Thanks!**_


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